Robbie Bach touts Windows Mobile over iPhone, BlackBerry
Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division, told the San Francisco Chronicle in an interview published Sunday that the company has no plans to put up a Zune phone to compete with iPhone.
Robbie Bach, president of Entertainment & Devices Division.
(Credit: Microsoft)On the eve of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, where a new iPhone is rumored to be unveiled, the man who is charge of developing Xbox, Zune, and Windows Mobile began his question-and-answer session with the paper by touting the success of Windows Mobile.
"We will outsell the iPhone," he told the newspaper."We will outsell the BlackBerry."
"We don't make phones ourselves. We don't have any plans to make phones ourselves," the told the paper. "Our focus is on the belief that a phone is a very personal thing. Different people want different types of phones. We think that is going to continue, and we think Windows Mobile is in a great position to service all those different opportunities."
He went on to say that the phone itself is just one component of smartphones' success.
"It's about browsing. It's about music. It's about video. It's about e-mails, text messaging, and photos."
On the topic of mobile browsing, Bach also addressed the issue of the lack of advertising success in mobile Web browsing, saying that it's still a work in progress.
"The business model for browsing on a phone has not gotten itself completely clear yet," he said. "In the PC space, the way people monetize the Internet is through advertising. Now in the phone space, we believe that advertising will be a part of that experience, but it's a different form factor."
Bach also touched on entertainment issues, including Microsoft's backing of the now-largely extinct HD DVD format, pointing out that many consumers say they can't see a substantial picture quality improvement with next-generation discs.
"You have to look at how fundamentally compelling the difference is between a progressive scan DVD player and the picture that it can produce and what you get on a high-definition player. The reality is there is some difference, but most people look at it and say, 'I am not going to pay extra for that.'"
And can we expect to see the company embrace Blu-ray in the next version of its Xbox game console?
"There is nothing to even talk about right now with regard to the next generation. That is so far out that there isn't anything to talk about."
However, CrunchGear is reporting that a tipster with "close friend who works at Microsoft" said they were told that Microsoft will try to upstage Apple on Monday with the announcement that an Blu-ray Xbox 360 will be available by the Christmas holiday shopping season.
Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. Before joining CNET News in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers. E-mail Steven. 
In other words the Zune is a flop and making a phone out of it would be a complete waste of time.
The period key is two keys left of the shift key. Although it looks like you might need a map to find the shift key as well!
Anyways, three ways to be sure you're dealing with an idiot on the web: deliberately bad grammar; no punctuation to speak of; and thinks the Zune is second after the iPod. Ever heard of SanDisk?
On that note, Zune is not touching iPod sales, it's only gnawing away at Microsoft's former PlaysForSure partners like Creative and Sandisk.
So it wouldn't surprise me a bit if they coughed up some new Zunephone and betrayed their Windows Mobile partners, since that business model was so successful at getting them a 4% market share
Windows Mobile is a completely worthless OS for a phone as it's so ridiculously complex and unintuitive, not to mention an aesthetically unappealing experience. It was an also-ran in the smart-phone space long before it had any competition. Come to think of it, a "smartphone" with Windows Mobile is pretty much an oxymoron. We accidentally ended up buying a phone with WM on it... worst pile of crap I'd used. It made me want to go back to my phone from five years earlier... the one with the monochrome LCD screen.
So, if they aren't planning on manufacturing a phone, what in the hell are they doing with Danger?
The guy actually believes that nonsense coming out of his mouth? Okay, well, nobody else does.
a Zune phone? waste more money,
suggest m$ cut the stupid department to save more poor people of world.
Anything MS related always brings out the same comments, Windows Mobile is far more popular then the Iphone both are great devices it depends on the user's preference though.
About the Zune, MS is doing something Apple never would have done continue to add features to a device that is 2 years old. They have continued to improve it and the software and its only gotten better. The new sync groups is far better then anything Ipod has, it sets up groups for you automatically OR you can create your own, then you can choose to sync them all if there is something that is too big it will show you the largest file and allow you to remove it during the sync, Ipod's way to put the music on is either drag and drop or make a playlist which takes time that I don't have. (if there is an easier way I would love to know) You might not like it because its not an Ipod but I along with 2 million other people enjoy the product, so its doing well enough. Plus if it was such a flop why would they open it to other markets?
Canada will be getting it June 13th plus you can now put games on it (beta right now of course)
Europe I believe is getting it when they launch the Zune 3
http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/12780/13804/microsoft-windows-mobile-phone-sales.phtml
Why would you want a $500 iPod that can be used as a Phone? Add in very little memory and to me it is the silliest product out there....
Don't bet on iPhones or iPods ever supporting Windows Media; it's a proprietary format for which they would have to pay a licensing fee to Microsoft. All of the formats that the iPod accepts are open standards like MP3, AAC, and M4P. On the video side, also open standards but also Apple's Quicktime.
Yes, I know, there is DRM on many of the tracks from th iTunes store, but M4P is still an open standard.
I don't think Apple will ever pay a licensing fee to Microsoft for the pleasure of using their crappy wm codecs.
At a lower price with higher speed data transfer it is hard to imagine anyone not picking an iPhone. The user interface SW is simply astounding as opposed to MS usual features clutter (however clumsily implemented).
And.... excuse me, why did they work so hard for HDDVD if there is such a small difference?
These people are going to get ther butt kicked and they deserve it.
Daughter One, Blackberry user (and loves it)--"Dad, can I see your phone. I need to check my Facebook".
Daughter Two, Pantech Duo user with MS--"Dad, can I see your phone. I want to check out YouTube".
Dad--Left with a capable phone great for texting/e-mails (Blackberry) and another with the most unintuitive interface ever (the Pantech with MS). I only need to touch one button to get my news, sports scores and weather in real time. The MS on the Pantech (not a bad phone) is a mess. Sure, Microsoft will ship millions of MS--to everyone else who is not Apple or RIM.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/06/08/sling_unveils_concept_slingplayer_mobile_for_iphone.html
Its a Proof of Concept,and requires a jailbreak meaning that the SDK does not meet Sling's requirements(I suspect the one program only running limit could be it). The fact that you need a jailbreak means something...its Apple's legendary locked platform in action.
WM's mature software, superior hardware(see AT&T Tilt), and inherent flexibility(better than the iPhone's flexibility, for sure, for example, my old HP rx3115 was a remote) makes it the winnar, but the GUI is not shiny for Joe Average,and that is why the iPhone wins.
on that note: PLEASE M$,aggressively advertise WM to the 18-25 segment! I am TIRED of seeing my peers using the iPhone, and losing out on the flexibility of WM! The time is right, the sale of "smart phones" to the younger generation is skyrocketing! C'mon, give Paris a Tilt, see how your sales will go up!
/end fanboism
(BTW:I have a iPod Touch, I enjoy the apps via Jailbreak, but I miss the games and Office)
He is 100% correct, cell phones are a personal thing. Personally, I like my iPhone. It is the best phone I have out (out of 9 so far), it is far easier to use and offers me features that I like.
That does not mean that it is the right phone for everyone. For one thing it is a little over priced, seconds your stuck pretty much with AT&T and third... well third is what you you choose.
I'll let the numbers speak for themselves. 15 million sales for windows mobile and 4 million for iphone. If the phones were crap, those numbers would not be where they are today. No matter how much you trash it, there's alot more than you who think it's a treasure. It's time to get off your high horse and stop your childish whinning.
- by Penguinisto June 9, 2008 9:46 AM PDT
- ROTFL! I expected nothing less from someone who seems content with falling behind...
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